Being In My Twenties
by Just-Enjoy-It
Summary: And there it was, twenty. Brooke never thought it would happen so fast and yet here she was facing life changing choices and struggling between determining what was good and wrong.
1. Chapter 1

_Hey guys, it's been a long time (years actually) and I am really sorry I have not written in a long time but I am finally back and as a peace offering, I have written a new story, hope you enjoy it..._

_And I will be updating my other stories soon, so stay tuned..._

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything…Just my story _

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**BEING IN MY TWENTIES**

"Happy birthday to you...Happy birthday to you...Happy birthday to you Brooke...Happy birthday to you!".

"Now you need to make a wish", said Brooke mother, putting a small chocolate cake in front of her. It was a home made cake lightened up by two little candles indicating her age: twenty. The young woman slowly closed her eyes, took a deep breath taking some time to make her wish, and in one swift she blew the candles. Her mother quickly applauded and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.

"I'm gonna get your present", said her mother quickly, heading to the other room.

And there it was, twenty. Brooke never thought it would happen so fast. Only few years ago, she thought being twenty was so old, and yet here she was. A five feet one curvy brunette who looked more like she was eighteen than twenty. But she did not necessarily considered it was a bad thing, because she had friends who looked even younger than she did, and at least when she will be older, she would not have to worry about looking younger. Anyway, she was twenty now and determined to start her life as a real adult.

_**Chapter I – Twenty two and...nothing**_

Two years and a month later...

The sun was showing its first stripes, waking slowly the sleeping brunette. She felt grumpy and nauseous. The fact that she spent the night drinking to celebrate her graduation which gave her a massive hangover, was probably one of the reason, but it was not the only reason. Two years had passed and nothing had changed. Sure, she graduated from college and manage to have a law degree from Columbia but something was missing. Love was missing. For the past two years, she had wished for a boyfriend, and yet nothing. It was not the fact that she was single now, that bothered her, but the fact that she has always been single. She has never been in a relationship before, and even worse, she has never had sex. She considered that being a virgin at her age was a big deal. Of course, for certain women it wasn't, since they choose to preserve themselves for their husband, but she didn't. She didn't want to wait to be married to share the pleasure of the flesh. She wanted to have sex now, and what made it even more difficult was that most of her friends had already done it. Not everybody, but most of them and that was seriously bothering her.

However, she had more important things to think about right now, like work. In order to finance her law school fees, she managed to find a work as a paralegal in a prestigious law firm in Lower Manhattan and today was her first day of work. Brooke managed to fix herself in order to look presentable, she took two cups of coffee and figured that she could take another one at the office. She was at the firm by 8:30, she was supposed to start at 9 but she figured she would make a better impression if she arrived early. And she did, the woman supposed to show her around, Laura Clark, arrived few minutes later to take care of her. It was a tall blond, with fancy clothes and a stylish haircut. Brooke thought that she looked more like a model of Elle Magazine than a paralegal, but she seemed nice.

"Hello, Miss Davis" she said politely with a genuine smile. "Nice to meet you"

"Nice to meet you too " answered Brooke shaking the woman hand "You can call me Brooke by the way"

"Ok Brooke! Well you can call me Laura" she responded before starting to walk "I'll show you around".

Laura appeared to be a really great guide. She showed Brooke every places in the office, starting with the coffee cart, and made sure to give the young woman few advice. She then led her to her office. It was a small room, but really cosy enlightened by three huge windows revealing an incredible view. Brooke was beyond happy, never in her wildest dream she could have imagine working in such a place. But her smile quickly disappeared when she discovered all the work she had to do. There was around twenty files lying on her desk.

"You need to do the pink ones by the end of the day, and as for the one on top, it needs to be done before lunch since Mister Scott will need it this afternoon". Brooke was dumbfounded she had to work on at least ten files by the end of the day, and she wasn't even really awake.

"Are you gonna be ok ?" asked Laura noticing the panicked look on her colleague's face.

"I think...I mean, I am, of course" She answered forcing a reassuring smile on her face. But Laura was far from being convinced.

"Well, if you need something, I'm right next door..."she said giving the brunette a warm smile, before leaving the office.

Brooke took a deep breath and stared deeply at the view, hoping that it would help her get through the morning. But what she really needed right now was a cup of coffee. Brooke usually made sure to savour every single cup of coffee she had, like it was a precious elixir, but she didn't have time for her precious ritual at the moment. She needed to get back to work, right now. She quickly swallowed her expresso and headed determined to her office, but when she got there the door was closed and the blinds were down. She slowly looked around, wondering if she was indeed at her office but noticed Laura working in the next room. There was no doubt, this was her office and yet everything was closed. She took a deep breath and softly knocked on the door, but nobody answered. She carefully opened the door and was surprise to see a tall blond man standing beside the window, his back facing the door. Brooke deeply looked at him trying to identify him, Laura had introduced her to some men during her visit but he did not looked like one of them. His suits looked way more expensive and he also seemed older, like he was in his early thirties.

"Hum...excuse me ?" said softly Brooke.

"What the fuck!" replied the man obviously caught by surprise. " What the hell are you doing here ?!" He asked, tossing his cigarette through the window.

"Hum...this is my office" shyly answered Brooke caught out of guard.

"Is it ?" The blond quickly looked around and noticed the open files on the desk. "Hum..." He then looked at her from head to toe with a serious look on his face.

"All right then, I'll leave you to whatever you're doing" he quickly said before heading to the door but stopped abruptly. He slowly closed the door and turned around to walk to the brunette direction with an intense look on his face. He stopped right in front of her, looking directly into her eyes with this intense look. Brooke's heart was beating so fast she felt like she was going to have a heart attack. She took a deep breath to calm her nerve, but it was not working, she was literally loosing it. She tried to escape his gaze turning her head to the left to stare at the floor, but he slowly took her chin and made sure she was staring right into his eyes. He had beautiful eyes, they were blue with a hint of grey, and so intense that she could loose herself in it. She was breathing heavily now, he could feel it, a small confident smile appeared on his lips. Brooketook another deep breath, inhaling his perfume it was a mix of cigarette and the new Dior Homme perfume, it was mesmerising.

"Do not say a word about this" he slowly whispered into her hear, making her shiver.

He then quickly let go of her face and left the room a satisfied smile on his face.

_END OF CHAPTER 1_

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_Hope you liked it guys! Feel free to tell me what you think and if you want to read more..._


	2. Chapter 2

_New chapter! Yeah that was fast! _

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything EXCEPT this story!_

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_**Chapter II – What game are we playing ?**_

It was 11: 30 and the pile lying on Brooke's desk looked exactly the same. She had been here for hours and yet she did not manage to finish the work due by the end of the morning. Her mind was somewhere else, or to be more correct on someone else. She had not stop thinking of that mysterious guy in the office. His perfume, his intense eyes and his sensual voice, everything about him was driving her crazy and she did not even know who he was.

"Are you done yet ?" Brooke naughty thoughts were abruptly interrupted by Laura who came to check on her.

"Almost..." lied Brooke even if she was far from being done, but she could not look distracted and inefficient on her first day of work.

"Oh, so I guess you can join us for lunch in an hour then" asked Laura cheerfully.

"Actually, I think I'm gonna have lunch in here...Just to make sure I'll be done by the end of the day"

"Are you sure ?" asked Laura obviously worried that her colleague was already swamped her first day of work.

"Yeah don't worry about me, I'll be fine. And I'm definitely having lunch with you tomorrow" answered Brooke, reassuring her.

"Well I'll pick you up for the coffee break, because everybody needs a coffee break no matter how much work you have!" she said before leaving the room. "Oh and make sure to give all your research to Mr Scott Junior when you're done..."

Brooke bought herself a small salad she ate while working on Mr Scott research. She was done by 1:15 and proceeded to bring it to his office. When she finally got to his office, she knocked on the door but nobody answered. She slowly opened the door, and was surprise to see the very same guy smoking in her office few hours ago, now seated on his desk looking all professional.

"Hum...excuse me" began Brooke, but was abruptly interrupted by this tall blond man who did not even bother looking at her to talk to her.

"What ?" he growled, clearly annoyed.

"I just came to give you the research I made for the Harper case" she answered walking toward his desk to hand him the papers.

"Ah finally!" he said, now looking at her, an impassive look on his face. Brooke immediately frowned. "Do you need something else ?"

"Hum...no...I...no"

"Good, then leave. I've got work to do" he quickly said, looking right back in his computer. Brooke was shocked, she did not understand what just happened. Did he not recognise her ? Few hours ago, he was in his office smoking, seducing her into keeping that secret and now he was acting as if he never saw her before. She was completely lost.

"I mean, I just don't get it!" said Brooke grabbing the vanilla ice cream in the fridge. As soon as she got home, Brooke shared the situation with her roommates.

"The guy is playing with your nerve" said Rachel, one of Brooke's roommate. Rachel and Brooke met in college four years ago and have been really closed ever since. Rachel, was a 23 redhead who knew everything a woman needed to know about men. She had her first sexual relationship when she was sixteen, been in multiple relationships but, mostly, had a strong habit for one night stand. She was like the younger version of Samantha Jones from Sex and The City. Rachel knew about Brooke's virgin situation, and during the four years she has been living with her, she did notice that her roommate never brought a man home, even though she was always pressuring her to do so. She thought that no matter who or where the man was from and she just had to do it already because she did not think that being in a relationship was necessary to have sex. On the other hand, Hayley, her other roommate thought that sex was something important that shouldn't be shared with anybody than the someone you truly love. Hayley already had two sexual partners in her life, her high school sweetheart, with whom she broke up with right after graduation; and Chris, her new boyfriend. They have been together for a year and a half now, and she is deeply in love with him, so in love that she is actually thinking of moving in with him after she graduates from Law School.

"And I think he screams trouble" added Hayley worried that her friend might end up hurt by this man "You should stay away from him".

"Not necessarily..." replied Rachel "It looks like the guy wants to play a game with you, you just need to set the rules".

"I don't know, I mean we work at the same place, I don't want to end up in a shitty situation if it doesn't work out"

"Exactly!" screamed Hayley approving her friend train of thought. "You don't want to end up in a mess, seriously stay away from him".

"Hey, love is about risk! So you need to take a risk, if it doesn't work out at least you'd try!" added Rachel encouraging Brooke to take a chance with the mystery Mr Scott . Brooke was a really shy person and kind of old school too. She always thought that the guy should make the first step, and the girl should only respond to it. But it looked like this theory has not worked out well for her so maybe it was time for a change of strategy.

When Brooke woke up the next morning, she had an extra motivation, Mr Scott. She decided it was time to know him a little better and like Rachel said, set the rules to whatever game he was playing. But she needed to put all the chances on her side and decided to look extra fabulous for the occasion. She put on a sexy black dress that showed some of her cleavage but not to much, she was in the law firm not a strip club, and put on some red lipstick. She looked hot and confident, and that is exactly what she needed to get through the day.

"Hey, looking hot today" said Laura when she saw Brooke walking to her office

"Oh thanks" answered Brooke blushing a little

"Special occasion ?"

"No...not really..."

"Hum, ok! Well, I put on some files on your desk but they are only due for next week, so don't rush it...Oh and coffee break in five"

The coffee cart was the meeting point for the paralegals, assistants and interns, it was the right place to hear about all the new gossips and stories happening in the firm, and that was exactly what Brooke was looking for, gossips about the mysterious Mr Scott .

"Hey everybody" said Brooke greeting her colleagues

"Guys you remember Brooke, Brooke you remember everybody" pursued Laura

"So, are you liking it here ?" asked one of the assistant.

"Yeah, I am. It's great and the people here seems nice" answered Brooke shyly

"Seem is the right word" replied another. "Who did you meet in the associates ?"

"Hum...Scott...Junior" answered Brooke. A small smile was appearing on her colleagues face.

"So what did you think about him ? Hot isn't he"

"Yeah, and taken. The guy has been with the same girl since forever"

"And he's been cheating her since forever too. Being in a relationship doesn't mean shit anymore".

And here it was, without even trying, Brooke discovered all she needed to know about the mysterious man. His first name was Lucas, he was thirty two and his name was on the door, actually his father's name but that was practically the same. He graduated from Harvard Law School with honours, and he has been with his girlfriend for five years. They met in college and apparently they are engaged to be married even though he still have not popped the question yet. But the fact that he was taken changed everything for Brooke, she did not want to be the other woman. So it was settle, she had to stay away from him, unfortunately for her, it seemed like Brooke had a complete different plan in mind. Indeed, when she got back to her office he was there smoking again.

"Excuse me, what are you doing ?" asked Brooke, actually pissed by the situation. Smoking in an office was forbidden, if someone walked in her office she could be in serious trouble.

"You again" answered Lucas turning around to face her, but this time he did not throw his cigarette away.

"Smoking is forbidden"

"Is it ?" asked Lucas smirking, he was clearly making fun of her now.

"Look, you can't keep doing this here. I could be in serious trouble if anyone discover what you are doing" pursued Brooke clearly annoyed by the situation. But it seems like Brooke was actually amused by all this.

"It's not funny, I'm serious about it".

"I can see that, but I don't care. I've been smoking here for months now, so..."

"Are you fucking serious right now ?!" Brooke was not annoyed anymore, she was furious. The guy had some nerve. "Look, I don't know who used to work in here, but I do now. So I forbid you to smoke in here again!"

"You forbid me ?" Lucas was shocked, he was not the type of man who received orders from young women who have been here for two days. But he was not pissed, he was actually impressed. "You have some balls you know that..." he said slowly walking in her direction. "I like that in a woman" he added before leaving the room. He was totally playing with her, unfortunately, she wasn't setting the rules, he was.

"So, how was work ?" asked Hayley when her roommate finally got home.

"Did you see, your hot mystery guy" asked Rachel finally out of the shower

"I did, and I discovered he has a girlfriend"

"He does ? Oh honey I'm sorry..." said Hayley comforting her friend

"It's fine, I'll get over it, plus he's a complete douche, so...whatever"

"Well, you know what you should do instead of crying the lost of a potential sexual partner...go find another one" added Rachel "We're going out!"

"But I have work tomorrow" answered Brooke, she was not in the mood to party. She just wanted to get in her bed and watch an episode of The OC.

"Come on, we haven't been out in ages..." complained Rachel.

"We had a massive party two days ago are you kidding me" replied Hayley. She liked to party, but when the circumstances called for it, tonight was not the case.

"Oh, come on...please" pleaded Rachel. She was really good at doing the puppy eyes thing, nobody could resist it, even her dear roommates.

The young women decided to get a drink at the Empire Hotel, Brooke did not want to admit it, because encouraging Rachel in her partying habits was certainly not the right thing to do, but that was what she really needed at the moment.

"There are some cute guys" said Rachel looking around "You should go talk to one of them..."

"Hum, I don't think so...I'm not really good at this" replied Brooke

"That's why you need practice...Come on!"

"Hum, excuse me" interrupted a waiter "The gentleman over here send you this drink" he added before pointing a dark haired man seated across the room. Brooke quickly glanced at him, and discovered that he was not alone, he was with some friends and one of them looked extremely familiar.

"He's hot" said Rachel staring at him, and Hayley seemed to approve.

"Oh my God!" Brooke was speechless

"What is it ?"

"He's with Lucas..." added Brooke, clearly dumfounded

"Hot lawyer Lucas ?" asked Rachel

"Yeah..." replied Brooke"Let's get out of here"

"What?! No, we are going at their table" said Rachel obviously excited "Come on!" she added walking in their direction. "Hey guys!", said Rachel cheerfully, her friends right behind her.

"Hey" answered the dark haired man looking directly into Brooke's eyes "I hope you enjoyed your drink"

"Yeah, thanks" replied Brooke. She was not feeling well, with Lucas right next to her. She wanted to run, run as far as she could.

"Would you like to join us ?" added another man seated right next to Lucas.

Despite, Lucas staring weirdly at her, Brooke was actually having a nice time. Natathan, the guy who sent her that drink seemed really nice, and really funny. He even invited her to the after party he was doing at his apartment. Brooke refused politely because she did not feel like spending more time with Lucas, who did not even bother to open the mouth the all time they were together. But Nathan really insisted, and Rachel wanted to go, she had a shot with one of his friend, John and she did not want to leave before getting to know him better. Nathan had a huge apartment in Upper East Side, it was elegantly decorated with modern paintings and sculptures, and the view was wonderful. Lucas did not talk much that evening, he even managed to escape the party and hide somewhere in the apartment. But Brooke did not really noticed his absence, she was too busy flirting with Nathan. For her, it was just talking but really, they were flirting. She was laughing at his jokes, even when they weren't too funny and they were just getting to know each other. She felt really comfortable with him.

"Hum, can you excuse me a moment" Brooke whispered to James hear, "I need to go to the lady's room".

"Next door, on the left"

"Thanks...I'll be right back" She needed to fix herself a little, things were starting to get intense between them, and who knows maybe it would led to something more than just talking, she just wanted to be ready, just in case. When she left the toilet, she saw smoke coming from the next room. She headed to the next room but stopped immediately when she noticed Lucas smoking in there. She wanted to get in, but she promised herself that she would stay away from him because he was already taken, plus things were looking great with Brooke, she did not want to blew it.

"You can come in if you want" said Lucas who noticed her presence

"No I think I'm good" answered Brooke heading quickly to the living room but stopped in her track when she heard Lucas talking to her again.

"You know, I can share" he added, a small smirk on her face. That was it, Brooke was literally loosing it. She was tired of this, he had not said a word to her of all night and yet here he is flirting with her again.

"What do you want from me ?" asked Brooke clearly desperate by all the situation. It has been two days, and she was already tired of all this. Lucas stared at her, an intense look on her face and starting walking to her direction. She was scared, she wanted to run and go back to the living room, but she was paralysed it was like a body was not listening to her brain anymore. He took her face in his face and looked right into her eyes like he was staring at her soul. Her heart was beating so fast now, but she could not move, she could not even say a word. He then took a deep breath and kissed her.

_END OF CHAPTER 2_

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_Hope you liked it! Feel free to share your opinions ;)_


	3. Chapter 3

_Next chapter's here! Enjoy!_

_**Disclaimer:** Just own this story..._

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_**Chapter III – The Kiss**_

She didn't responded at first, but when he started to force his tongue into her mouth, she kissed him back. The kiss was so intense, her head was spinning. His hand started moving on her back and then her ass. She had chills everywhere. She did not want to break the kiss, but she had to, she needed to breath. But he then started kissing her neck, she was so turned on that she could have give herself to him, right here, right now. But he was taken, he had a girlfriend for five years, she could not do that.

"I can't...I...I need to go"

Lucas was speechless, when he started preliminaries with a woman, she did not usually vanished before he got the chance to conclude and yet she did. "Wait...where are you going ?" He asked trying to stop her.

"You have a girlfriend..." simply answered Brooke.

"I do..." replied Lucas calmly.

"Then I can't do this..." she said heading out. Lucas did not stop her this time, he was too shocked to do so. Women he usually hooked up with knew he was in the relationship but it did not bother them because it was just a one night thing, something they would forget in the morning.

"We've got to go" whispered quickly Brooke to Rachel.

"What ?!...Why ?!" Rachel did not know what was happening right now, but the look Brooke had on her face did not predict anything good. She was panicking and shaking a little.

"Are you okay ?" asked Rachel clearly worried.

"I'm fine but I've got to go" she said before glancing at Lucas who just entered the room. Rachel instantly knew that something happened between the two but she did not now if it was a good thing or not. "I'm sorry guys, but something came up and I've got to go. It was nice meeting you all" Brooke added now heading to the doors.

"Wait!" said Nathan caught out of guard and quickly ran after her. "Brooke! Is everything ok ?"

"Yeah it is, I just...really need to go" answered Brooke clearly in hurry. "But thank you, I had a really nice time" added Brooke shyly smiling at him.

"Yeah, me to...Do you think that maybe we could do this again ?"

Brooke was surprised, pleasantly surprised by his proposition but a small part inside her told her it was not a good idea. She had just kissed his friend, in his bathroom, she could not be possibly be dating him. It would not be fair. Nathan saw that she was hesitating, but gave her his card anyway. "Look, there's no pressure okay...But if you change your mind, here is my number"

"Thank you" replied Brooke taking the card before leaving quickly.

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He slowly put his hand on the bottom of her dress and started raising it up slowly, very slowly. She was so turned on she could not handle it anymore. With one hand he quickly tore up her pantyhose and then with one swift he took of her panties. He then slowly started sliding his hands between her legs leaving soft wet kisses on her neck before...

"Rise an shine New York! It's 7 and we are waking you up with your favourite old school songs...And this one is dedicated to Mary by her secret lover Tim...enjoy!" added the radio host, before playing the song of Samantha Fox, "Touch me"

"Really!" screamed Brooke before quickly getting out of bed. It felt like the entire world was against her now!

"What's up with you grumpy" asked Hayley when she saw her friend get out of her room clearly upset. "Bad dream"

"Bad dream...you're kidding me, I bet she's been having sex with her hot boss in her dream and is pissed because she woke up before coming" said Rachel making fun of her friend.

"What ? No..." replied Brooke clearly shocked. "I was not..."

"Oh come on! It's written all over your face but I don't blame you, he is hot and he kissed you!"

"But he is taken..." It was clear in her mind that no matter how hot he was, and I much she wanted him that she could not have him because it was taken. She had seen a lot of people in her life involved with married men and was actually victim of this situation not directly, but indirectly, through her mother who was cheated on by her father after 20 years of marriage. It affected her, changed her , made her see relationships in a different way and more especially forced her to respect them. No matter how complicated or twisted they were, it did not matter for her...The fact that he was in a relationship meant that he was off limit!

"Yeah, he is..."replied Haley supporting her friend "And, there's Nathan..."

"Yeah, he's hot too and he gave you his number, you should call him!"

"I don't know...I kissed his friend..."

"So what ?" asked Rachel "You were not dating Nathan when you did, so there is no cheating..."

"Plus, it's not like it is going to happen again..right ?" added Haley, making sure that her friend was going to stick to her good resolution.

"Yeah, sure! Never...again..." replied Brooke totally eager to stick to her decision, but it was without counting on what Lucas had in mind.

"Hi" said Lucas when Brooke finally got into her office "You're late..."

"I had to go to Jane's office first..." replied Brooke not feeling good at the idea of being alone with him in her office after what happened between them yesterday.

"Close the door..." he said calmly

"I'd rather not" answered Brooke clearly beginning to lose control, she feared what could happen if they were alone with nobody looking at them. She did not want something to happen, but when he started touching her and looking at her, her body clearly wanted the opposite.

"You think you won't be able to control yourself if nobody's looking ?"

"No..." answered Brooke definitely not convincing

"Liar" he quickly replied sensually whispering to her hear before closing the door. "I can't...control myself when I am around you...I want to touch you...to taste you" He was now behind her, touching her shyly but it had effect on her, he could see her all body changing beside him and he loved it. He started smirking and placed a soft kiss on her neck.

"Don't!" exclaimed Brooke jumping out of his grasp. "You have a girlfriend..."

"I do..." calmly answered Lucas not being apparently bothered by the idea of having a girlfriend and cheating on her with his employee.

"Then we can't be doing this..."

Lucas did not say anything and just stared at her a little smirk on his face.

"Stop looking at me like that..."

"Like what ?" asked Lucas laughing at her.

"Like I am ridiculous..." answered Brooke clearly not amused by the situation.

"I am not looking at you like you are ridiculous" slowly replied Lucas walking toward her "I am looking at you like I want to take you right here, right now on that desk!" he finished now facing her.

"You are taken..." slowly answered Brooke clearly intimidating and struggling to keep her self control.

"Let me pleasure you" he replied slowly before leaning closer to kiss her but she pushed him away.

"What about Nathan ?" asked Brooke trying to save some time before she gave herself to him, because she knew she would.

"What about Nathan ?" asked Lucas not understanding why she was talking about him.

"He is your friend" answered Brooke hoping it would trigger something to him...anything but it did not. "He asked me out"

"And what did you say ?" asked Lucas now intrigued. He knew his friend was attracted to Brooke but he met her first, and hooked up with her first so it did not matter, unless she wanted him. But the simple silence as an answer to his question convinced him that she wanted him and not anybody else, moreover, it was written all over her body. "That's what I thought" he simply answered smiling before leaning to kiss her again.

"What is that suppose to mean ?" asked Brooke clearly upset now, he acted like he already owned her, when clearly he did not.

"Just that you want me, so let's just stop playing around and get over with it" he replied sensually touching her legs.

"I don't want you! The only reason I have not answered to his proposition is because I felt bad after kissing you..."

"Did you ? Right now, you feel more horny than guilty!" he replied staring deeply into her eyes. He was right she was horny but she felt guilty too. And no matter how strong she was trying to fight her desire she could not help it anymore, so when he leant again to kiss her, she kissed him back. The kiss became quickly intense, he drove her closer to her and she wrapped her legs around him to feel him...everywhere. He took of her jacket and she started to unbutton his shirt. She did not realise what she was doing at the moment, but did it anyway because it felt so good...**he** felt so good. He started kissing her neck and unbutton her shirt to have more access to her breast. But he interrupted abruptly when his phone started ringing.

"Shit!" cursed Lucas quickly getting his phone out of his pocket. Brooke managed to see the picture which appeared on his phone, it was a picture of him kissing a woman and it was written in capital "FUTURE WIFE"...she felt sick.

"Yes" simply said Lucas clearly annoyed "What ?...I told you I can't... I have work to do...Just see with my mother if she can help you...No not tonight no...Look I'm kind of busy right now, let's talk about this later...later! Ok bye..." he then hang up turning his attention back to Brooke "Where were we ?"

"I have work to do...you should go" she replied, putting her clothes back on quickly. Lucas was dumbfounded and pissed too, he was so close...He tried to look at her, see if she would be up for a "quicky" but she was avoiding her gaze now. Now, was not the time...he would try again tomorrow.

Brooke spent the rest of her day avoiding Lucas, which he found more amusing that anything because he knew that when he will want her, she will have no other choice than be ready for him and deep down, Brooke knew that too, which made her feel sick.

"I just can't resist him" said Brooke trying to find comfort in Haley's arm. Haley actually felt bad for her friend, she knew that despite her obvious attraction to Lucas, Brooke was trying to fight it as hard as she could to do the right thing but it was not easy, Lucas was not making it easy.

"Maybe you should just give him what he wants and he will leave you alone" Brooke and Haley just glared at Rachel. She tended to speak without thinking and most of the time it was annoying... "Or maybe you should just focus your attention on someone else"...But sometimes, it was useful.

"What ? Use Nathan as a rebound ?" asked Brooke reading clearly in her friend mind, which tended to scare her since her friend always had suspicious twisted thought.

"Exactly!" screamed Rachel encouraging her friend. But Brooke was hesitating, she did not feel like using a guy to forget another guy, it was just bad...but on another hand, "desperate times call for desperate measures".

"I think it's a good idea actually..." the two roommates stared at their friend in shock "What ?"

"Holy Haley is agreeing with me ?! Am I dreaming or am I dreaming ?" asked Rachel fainting to be in shock, which she was actually.

"Shut up!" simply answered Hayley throwing a pillow at her friend. " I just think that if you have someone else in your life, you will forget about Lucas..." And she was true, they both were.

Nathan was perfect for the job, he was brilliant, hot, funny and attracted to her; he had everything she needed, so without hesitating she called him.

"Hello"

"Hi, it's me...Brooke..."

"Brooke who ?"

"Brooke Davis..." no answer from Nathan "We met yesterday..." still nothing.

Brooke was just shocked, he met her yesterday and had already forgot about her ?! Maybe, Nathan was not the rebound guy she was looking for.

"The same Brooke Davis who took my business card yesterday, telling me she would call me but didn't" asked Nathan playfully. He was playing with and he worked, really well.

"I never said I would call you...but I did anyway..."

"Fair enough...So what can I do for you Brooke Davis ?"

"Your offer to go on a date...Does it still stands ?"

_END OF CHAPTER 3_

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_Hope you liked it guys!_

_And for those who read Love With Benefits (my other story) or who are planning on reading it, next chapter this week!_


	4. Chapter 4

Next chapter's here!

_**Disclaimer:** I only own this story_

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**Chapter 4 – Is it me, is it you ?**

Three days had passed and Brooke had not seen Lucas anywhere. Apparently, he went to a business trip according to her colleagues but she did not have more informations and was not looking for more. A day without Lucas was a blessed day for Brooke because she did not have to hide every single minute, avoid him and more especially restrain the undeniable attraction she felt for him, attraction she hope would be redirecting to Nathan, her "rebound guy". She did not like to call him that, Rachel was actually the one who did and Hayley quickly followed, but the truth was that Nathan had clearly enough potential to be more than a rebound guy, he could be "the guy". She needed to go on a date with him first though, but she felt confident about it.

Nathan and Brooke both agreed to see each other on Tuesday. Nathan picked the restaurant, it was near Times Square and had an incredible view. Brooke sought for the help of her friends to pick something that was sexy but not too much, and made sure to be fashionably late.

"Sorry I'm late" said quickly Brooke when she joined Nathan at his table.

"It's fine" replied simply Nathan before getting up to greet her. "You look beautiful" he quickly whispered to her before giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you" replied Brooke slightly blushing "You look really handsome too" added Brooke smiling back at him.

They had been there for three hours, but it actually felt much shorter. They were so absorbed by their conversation that they did not even see the time pass. Nathan was really a great guy. He was funny, handsome and caring everything she needed to forget about Lucas. But it was not easy, deep down he was here, hidden in a very small place but here. She could not help but think about him and what he would say if he saw her here, flirting with one of his friend. He would probably leave her alone, which was what she wanted allegedly.

"It was great, I had a lot of fun...thank you" said Brooke, meaning every single word. She had a really nice time, despite that little voice that remembered her of Lucas, this date was perfect. "I had a really nice time too...We should do this again" replied Nathan staring deeply into her eyes. She did not know what she was suppose to do now. She knew that she was suppose to kiss him, it was what he expected from her but was it a really good idea. This little voice which remembered her of Lucas kept telling her that if she crossed that line she would not be able to go back, but moving forward was what she needed. But before she even had the time to figure out what she wanted, Nathan leant in and kiss her. She was surprised at first, he then stopped, looking into her eyes to search for a sign that would encourage him to continue, and without even thinking about it, she kissed him and he kissed her back. She deepened the kiss, and started putting her arms around his neck. It felt great, almost as good as when she kissed Lucas, and it was not forbidden. He was hers and nobody else.

"Wow" said Nathan breaking up the kiss to catch up his breath

"My roommates are here" said Brooke catching her breath heavily.

"It's fine, I should go or I won't be able to resist you" he replied smiling back at her. "I'll call you and we'll do something else ok ?"

"Yeah, ok..."

He lean in to give a quick kiss on her forehead before saying goodnight to her. Lucas was still in her mind, somewhere but now Nathan was too, and that relieved her, maybe she would be able to forget about Lucas Scott after all.

Few days had passed and Nathan and Brooke were not able to see each other, they were both swamped with work but they talked a lot. Nathan called her everyday, and they would stay hours on the phone. They were slowly and surely becoming addicted to each other and the fact that Lucas had not shown up to work for more than a week made it even easier for Brooke. She did not think about him as much as she used to and her "nasty dreams" of her and Lucas had stopped.

Nathan and Brooke both agreed that they should try to see each other more often and if they were not able to see each other for a long dinner yet, Nathan offered her to have lunch together, just an hour or two in order for them to catch up a little and continue what they started last week. Nathan offered to pick her up at her work, Brooke did not think it was a good idea but Nathan reassured her that it would not be a problem since he usually did that with Lucas. Nathan and Lucas were practically family, they grew up together and studied in the very same school. Nathan often said of Lucas that he was "the brother he never had" and this feeling was completely mutual. The fact that Nathan and Lucas were so close made Brooke feel guilty for starting whatever it was with Lucas. But she was glad she managed to stop it before it was too late and Nathan who she used as a rebound appeared to be more than she ever expected.

"I'm here" quickly texted Nathan to inform her that he had arrived. "Where are you ?"

"I'm in the 15th floor" quickly replied Brooke "I'll be upstairs in 5 minutes"

"Ok, I'll wait for you in your office then"

Nathan quickly asked the secretary where Brooke's office was before heading to it, but was surprise when he discovered that her office was already occupied.

"Hey! You're back" he said greeting his friend he had not seen for a long time.

"Oh, hey!" answered quickly Lucas who then threw his cigarette through the window

"I thought you quit" simply said Nathan noticing what his friend tried unsuccessfully to hide from him. Lucas just glared at him and Nathan laughed.

"You want one" then nicely offered Lucas

"No I'm good. Thanks" refused politely Nathan. He had been trying to quit for months and the fact that he was now dating Brooke who did not smoke at all and did not tolerate the smell of cigarette motivated him to put an end to his "bad habit".

"Were we suppose to have lunch" asked Lucas, he got back yesterday night from his business trip in Berlin and still had some difficulties to put himself back into the New York lifestyle.

"No, actually I'm..."

"Ah, here you are" interrupted Brooke while entering to see that Nathan was waiting for her in her office. She did not received his last message and went to the secretary office believing he was waiting for her there. But her smile quickly faded when she noticed that Lucas, whom she had not seen in more than a week was back and in her office.

"Mr Scott, you're back!" said Brooke formally but the two men looked at her surprised . She had never called him Mr Scott before.

"Yeah, I'm back Miss Davis" replied Lucas playfully. "So I take it you came for her then", he added turning his attention back to Nathan.

"Hum...Yeah...I..." started Nathan clearly embarrassed, he did not want his friend to found out about them like that and wished he had given him a heads up first. Brooke noticing that Nathan wanted to talk with his friend alone, so she pretended that she had another thing to do and left her office quickly. Nathan waited for the door to close and pursued. " I should have talked about this with you first because I know you saw her first, so if there's anything going on between you..."

Lucas had a huge opportunity to get rid of his best friend and keep Brooke for himself but he was hesitating, it just did not feel right. He was with someone despite the circumstances, he was engaged to be married to her and Brooke was just a way for him to have some fun. He loved teasing her and he found her attractive but was it enough for him to just jeopardise his own relationship and prevent his best friend from being in a relationship with someone he seemed to like ?

"Do you like her ?" asked calmly Lucas trying to find an answer to all his questions. Maybe Nathan did not even liked her, maybe all he wanted was to have some fun. Because let's face it, Nathan had never been in a serious relationship before why would it be different with Brooke then ?

"I think I do...Yeah...I mean I don't know, but I'm having a nice time with her. She's beautiful, funny...I've never met a girl like this before so maybe there could be more I don't know...I...I don't know...Maybe". Nathan seemed confused now, but despite all this confusion, Lucas saw this small smile, the light in his eyes when he was talking about Brooke. He was falling in love with her, slowly but still he was falling in love, and as selfish as Lucas was, he could not deny love to his best friend just to have sex with Brooke.

"Go for it..."

"Are you sure ?" asked Nathan hesitating, he wanted to be sure than he was not overstepping.

"Yeah I'm sure" reassured Lucas. But even though he believed it was the right thing to do, a little voice in his head kept repeating him that he made a big mistake.

When Brooke went back to her office to meet up with Nathan, Lucas had already left. She actually felt relieved because she did not feel like dealing with his inquisitive looks. Her lunch with Nathan went really well, they managed to catch up a little and took advantages to sneak few kisses. Things were going smooth and Brooke appreciated it a lot he did not put pressure on her and was really trying to get to know her which made Brooke like him even more.

After her quick lunch, Brooke headed back to her office to get back to her legal research but was surprised to discover a hand-written note on her desk saying: "Meet me at my office. Lucas Scott" Brooke froze when she read this note. She thought she would be able to avoid him and avoid talking about Nathan and her with him but apparently she could not. Thus, reluctantly she headed to his office and took a deep breath before knocking on his door and opening it.

"You wanted to see me" said Brooke while entering Lucas' office making sure to use a very formal tone.

"Yeah have a sit" said Lucas, not even looking at her. "It's about the M&amp;A transaction" he pursued now looking at her. "Did you manage to find the competition rules in France ?" he asked.

Brooke was surprised to see how professional he looked, he even looked more professional than her which intrigued her and turned her on too.

"There must be something wrong with me" thought Brooke while pretending to listen to what he was saying. She did not understand why but looking at him acting this serious had an effect on him, he looked even more attractive than he usually did with his shirt revealing shyly his chest and his sensual lips, lips that she had the luck to kiss more than once. He was just perfect...But he was not hers, as much as she would have wanted him to be hers, he wasn't and would probably never be and there was Nathan.

"So, what did you find ?" asked Lucas noticing that Brooke was definitely not paying attention to what he was saying.

"Hum...that the competition rules set by the European Union apply..." she answered trying to focus. "I can go get them if you want..."

"No, it's fine...Just send them to me in an e-mail" he said directing his attention to the documents on his desk. Brooke nodded and stood up to head to the door, but was stopped before reaching it. "Nathan...do you, really like him ?" asked Lucas still not looking at her. Brooke frowned, she was surprised that he would asked her that, but she did not say a word. She had fun with Nathan, she enjoyed his company but did she really like him ? She was not sure of that, especially since part of her mind was still stuck on the unavailable Lucas Scott. "So...do you ?" Lucas asked again, now looking at her with his piercing blue eyes which destabilised Brooke completely.

"I...I don't know" finally replied Brooke honestly.

"Don't hurt him" simply answered Lucas before getting back into his work.

"What is that suppose to him ?!" yelled Brooke. She had explained all the situation to her roommates when she went home and was clearly confused by it. The last time he saw her, he was telling her how much he wanted to sleep with her and now he was almost indifferent to her, and what surprised Brooke even more was that it annoyed her...it annoyed her a lot.

"Maybe he has moved on" said Rachel. It was the only explanation according to her, he went away for few days and just realised that he did not want Brooke anymore, that what was usually did womanizer like Lucas, so it would not be a surprise.

"But it is a good thing" added Haley, "That's what you wanted...right ?" then asked Haley who noticed how conflicting her friend look.

"I don't know...I mean of course it's best for everybody especially since he has a girlfriend but...there's just a part of me that..."

"Is addicted to him" interrupted Rachel, completing her sentence. "You are completely addicted to him Brooke Davis. This is the reason why, despite dating a hot guy you're still hung onto Lucas". Rachel was right, she was absolutely despite everything she had done to forget him, she was still hung onto him and she did not know what to do to change that.

"What should I do then ?" asked Brooke clearly desperate. She really wanted to put him behind her, to forget about him and move on with Nathan.

"Avoid him, as much as you can..." said Rachel. But Brooke found it impossible to achieve since she worked with him and was dating his best friend. "Just avoid to be with him and if you do, make sure not to be alone and if you are alone with him then always keep the door open". Rachel talked like an expert, she had actually already dated a married guy, she knew he was married but he pretended that he was not getting along with his wife anymore and that they were going to divorce. He lied, and when Rachel discovered it, she tried to break up with him but it was more difficult than what she planned since she worked with him. She eventually quit her job to make sure to stay away from him for good but quitting was not an option for Brooke, she needed this job. "Just avoid him and it will be ok" added Rachel.

As surprising as it seemed, Rachel advice actually worked, Brooke managed to avoid Lucas. She made sure to drop her research at his office when he was not there and most of the time, when she was in a room with him there was at least ten other persons with them. Lucas realised Brooke was trying to avoid, which he found funny because it proved that despite what she was claiming she had a thing for him but he did not try to talk to her. By "letting" Nathan date Brooke, he implicitly agreed to stay away from her and that's what he was going to do. Unfortunately for them, faith would reunite them soon enough. Nathan had decided to organise a little party at his place to introduce Brooke to some of his friends she never met and since Lucas was his best friend he invited him too. Knowing that he might end up alone with Brooke, Lucas politely declined the invitation but Nathan insisted so much, that he finally decided to come. Lucas and Brooke managed to avoid each other almost all night but when the few guests starting to leave the party, talking to each other became almost inevitable.

"I'm completely drunk!" screamed Nathan who had drink way more than he should have.

"I'm gonna put you to bed" said Brooke trying to carry Nathan to his room, but he was heavy, really heavy.

"Let me help you" said Lucas grabbing Nathan's other arm and heading to his bedroom.

"Sleep with me" said Nathan to Brooke, pulling on her arm so that she would lay down with him.

"I will..later" said Brooke covering him with a sheet. Nathan immediately fall asleep after that. Brooke quietly closed the door of his bedroom and joined Lucas who was sipping a drink he found on the table.

"Thanks for the help" said shyly Brooke to Lucas

"No problem" he answered with a sweet smile "Need a ride back home ?"

"I'll should probably clean up first" said Brooke contemplating to the impressive mess caused by this party.

"Don't worry about it, he'll call a cleaner tomorrow...Come on, let me drive you home".

The ride was really silent, Brooke glanced quickly at him when he was not looking and Lucas did the same thing when he noticed that she had just looked at him, but other than that nothing.

"Thanks for the ride" said Brooke when he finally pulled in front of her building.

"You're welcome" he replied smiling and Brooke smiled back at him. They were now staring at each other, without saying a word. Brooke knew that it was time for her to get out of the car but she could not move.

"I had fun..." added Brooke but Lucas did not say a word and kept staring at her. His gaze then moved to her lips. He wanted to kiss her, he knew he was not suppose to but he could not help it. He slowly moved his head toward her, and started noticing that Brooke was breathing heavily. She wanted it as much as he did, so it encouraged him to go further. He lean in a little more and placed a soft kiss on her lips. He then looked at her again, like he was seeking for her authorisation to continue. But she kissed him first placing a kiss on his lips. He had is authorisation, so without even hesitating a second he deepened the kiss. He placed his hand behind her neck to bring her closer to him and lost himself in their kiss. It was the first time they kissed like this. It was different, yes it was sensual and they could both feel the desire they had for each other but there was something else, something that was not physical or sexual, it was different. But as good as it felt, their situation was the same, Lucas still had a girlfriend and she was dating Nathan, Lucas' best friend. She could not do that, it was not fair for them. So without any notice Booke abruptly broke the kiss and ran out of the car. Lucas was completely caught out off guard, he did not understand why after sharing this passionate kiss she would run away from him, so he ran after her.

"Brooke!" he yelled, getting out of the car and running toward her.

The young brunette was desperately trying to get the key of the building but unfortunately she was not fast enough.

"Brooke" repeated Lucas who was now beside her. "Look at me" he said forcing her to face him. He wanted to understand why she ran away.

"I'm with Nathan and you have a girlfriend" said Brooke now shaking. She was completely losing control. He had this effect over her, he made her feel like there was nobody else other than them, and that everything was possible. But it was not true, the truth was that they could not be together.

"I don't love her..." simply replied Lucas. Brooke was shocked, it was the first time since he starting his little game with her, that he told her that he did not love his girlfriend, usually he would just say yes and act like he did not matter. Now Brooke understood why he always sounded so indifferent when he talked about her. But it did not change anything, he was still taken.

"It doesn't change anything Lucas " replied Brooke

"Of course, it does!" argued Lucas. He was convinced that the fact that he was trapped into a loveless relationship allowed him to do whatever he wanted.

"Then why are you still with her?" asked Brooke. He was firmly claiming that he did not love is girlfriend, but Brooke thought the opposite. She was convinced that if he had been with her for so many years, it was because a slight part of him felt something for him, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

"It's complicated..." simply replied Lucas, he was convinced that if he revealed her why he was still with his girlfriend, she would believe that he did not have feelings for her. But that was a private matter, one that he had been trying to deal with for years and was not ready to tell Brooke about it yet. But Brooke wanted to hear more, she wanted to know why he was in a loveless relationship, it would be a way to help her feel better about what she had done since she discovered he was taken. But he did not say much, and Brooke figured out that maybe he was not able to give her a proper explanation because there was none. He probably was just playing with her and just did not want to admit it.

"Why are you doing this to me" said Brooke exasperated. "You're Lucas Scott, you could have sex with whoever you want, so why me ?!" Lucas was surprised by this question. He actually never thought of why, she was a girl, that was a sufficient reason but there must be something else. Maybe it was the fact that she resisted him, it never happened to him before, so maybe that was what attracted her. Or maybe it was the fact that she was some sort of a forbidden fruit. She was his employee, dating her and harassing her like he had done for the past couple of weeks was definitely not the smartest thing to do. Or maybe, he had feelings for her. Lucas stopped a moment thinking about it. Could he have feelings for her ? He had had feelings for women before, but usually it happened after developing some sort of relationship, relationship that he would briefly interrupt when the woman would ask more of him like leaving his girlfriend for her, marrying her or give her children. But this time it was different, he had barely kissed her and was already mesmerised by her.

"I...I don't know..." he said trying to process everything. He had feelings for her, that must be the only reason, the explanation to justify why despite giving his "blessing" to Nathan to date her, he was still hang onto her. "I'm sorry" he said heading back to her car. Brooke looked at her with an interrogative look, he did not even bother answer her and seemed clearly disturbed. Brooke had never seen him like this, it felt like he had lost control.

_End of chapter 4_

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_Hey guys, hope you enjoyed this chapter!_

_I know some people are disappointed by Brooke behavior and I can understand that, but I have decided to explore Brooke and Lucas love story in another way, and showcase their passionate attraction and how they are torn between what's good and wrong. I also want to show how people in their twenties face life choices and don't necessarily do the right ones. This is the direction I have decided to take with my story and I'm sorry if you don't appreciate it. I have also realized that I have not really developed the other characters stories so even though the next 3 chapters are already written I'm going to work on that._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 – Starting Over**

When Brooke finally got to her apartment she was shaking, shaking with confusion, frustration, anger, disappointment and all those feelings were directing to her. She had been blaming Lucas for all that had happened between them, for the way he kept seducing her and making sure that whatever he did or said she would go back to him effortless. But the truth was that she was the one to blame, she was the one falling for him every single time and this needed to stop. She needed to take control over her, over her body, over her feelings. She needed to stop hurting Nathan because if he did not know anything now, he would eventually and he will end up hurt when he deserved way better than this, way better than her. She needed to start over.

"I'm going to break up with Nathan" said Brooke entering in her living room the next day. She had not slept at all, and spent all night thinking about what had happened with Lucas and she came to the conclusion that breaking up with Nathan was the best thing to do.

"What are you talking about ?" said Rachel half awake, she had not slept much either and it was not because she was thinking of life decision but because she had spent the night with Cooper, her boyfriend. He was a racer she interviewed few days ago for the gossip channel she was working for and they got along right away, so after a little bit of flirting he asked her out. She did not wait much to give herself to him, she usually never did so why change the rule for him, but she did not regret it. It was one of the best date she ever had, in weeks.

"I thought you liked Nathan" asked Haley equally confused.

"I did...I do" said Brooke honestly, he was a really nice guy and treated her well but despite all his kindness Lucas was always there. "But not enough..."

"It's understandable, you can't fall in love with someone right away , you have to give it some time". Haley knew what she was talking about because before falling in love with Chris she hated him. She thought he was way to self absorbed and arrogant, but when they started hanging out together she discovered another side of him and she fell in love.

"How am I suppose to fall in love with Nathan when I'm constantly drawn to Lucas"

Haley and Rachel looked at her weirdly. They thought this thing with Lucas was over, that she had decided to focus on Nathan and only him. Looking at her friends' confused look, Brooke thought it was time to tell them what had happened with Lucas the night before. She felt reluctant though, she knew they were her friends but they never really approved her_ "relationship"_ with Lucas and was scared that they would incriminate her for destroying a potential relationship for a man who was engaged and was only interesting in having sex with her. "Lucas and I kissed yesterday" said Brooke shamefully. Saying it out loud felt even worse.

"What ? Why ?" asked Haley in shocked. She wanted to shout at her for being this stupid. But instead she tried to remain supportive. She knew that despite all this Brooke was a good person, she just took the wrong path and she needed her friend to bring her back to the right one.

"I don't know it just happened...He kissed me and I kissed him back...I did not want to, I swear I did not but it's like we were two magnets inevitably drawn to the each other. It's crazy the effect he has on me. I just can't understand it".

" And you really think breaking up with Nathan is the solution ?" asked Haley, she felt like she was punishing Nathan for a mistake she committed and it just did not seem fair.

"I think that I need to start over...I need to make things right and it starts with Nathan. I'm going to break up with him."

Brooke had asked Nathan to meet her for a coffee in the afternoon. She had no idea on how she was going to do this, but she knew she had to do it anyway. Rachel gave her few advice saying the sentence _"it's not you, it's me"_ always worked. Brooke did not know if it was true, but she did know than in her case, she was the only one to blame for all this situation.

"Thank you for meeting me" said Brooke when Nathan finally sat down.

"It's always a pleasure to see you" said Nathan smiling at her, the party he had yesterday was a real success, everybody loved Brooke and he believed their relationship could move forward now.

"So, what's up ?"Brooke took a deep breath, she really did not know how to do this and felt even worst seeing Nathan so excited, he really had no clue on what was going on.

"I like you...I really do...You're sweet, funny, handsome and incredible with me, I could not have asked for a better boyfriend but...I need to...I need to figure things out and I need to do this alone". Nathan looked at her interrogatively not sure about what was going on.

"Are you breaking up with me ?" asked Nathan clearly in shock, where the hell was this coming from ?

"I...I am...but it's not you it's me..." said Brooke hoping it would make things easier, but clearly it did not.

"I mean...I don't understand, I thought we were happy...Did I do something ?"

"No you did not" said Brooke trying to reassure him, she could see he was confused and worried that he had done something. She was wondering if she should tell him the truth, ease his pain. But she feared this would caused more harm than good. "I just...I'm just so conflicted in my head right now...I just need time and space to put everything in order...I like you, I really do...But I just can't be in this relationship anymore...I'm sorry."

When Brooke finally got home, she felt relieved, like she was breathing again. She knew she had hurt Nathan and felt bad about it, but after everything she had done, she felt like breaking up was actually the best thing she did to him And tomorrow, she will do what is best for her...put an end to her "relationship" with Lucas.

"You did the right thing" said Rachel reassuring her friend. She saw how torn up Brooke was about all the situation, she needed to take a step back, figure everything out and for that she needed to be single.

"Yeah I think I did...I hope Haley would back me up on it too...Speaking of which, where is she ?" said Brooke looking around for her friend.

"On a date...with Chris" said Rachel clearly annoyed. She did not like the guy, she felt like he was hiding something and Brooke had that weird feeling too but Haley loved him and they were suppose to support her so, they let it go. But the truth was, Rachel could not wait for Haley to break up with him.

Haley was patiently waiting for Chris in a bar-restaurant where they decided to have a drink before having lunch, and as usual, he was late. Haley started looking around for him when she noticed Nathan seated on the counter. She wanted to talk to him but she felt like it was not a good idea, especially after Brooke had broken up with him. Brooke and her friends were probably the last person he wanted to see. But before she had time to turn around, Nathan noticed her and waived at her. She waived back shyly and at her greatest surprise, she saw him heading to her direction.

"Hey" he said shyly. He and Haley were not really close but he figured that after being in a relationship with her best friend for a month greeting her politely was the least thing he could do.

"Hey" replied Haley "How are you doing ?" said Haley, before realising this was probably the stupidest thing to say. His girlfriend had broke up with him, he was definitely not doing good.

"I've been better" said Nathan honestly. He was still in shock after Brooke unexpected break up, but was getting over it, or at least he was trying.

"I heard for you and Brooke...I'm sorry" Haley really was on team Nathan and was pretty pissed that Brooke sacrificed Nathan for Lucas. If she had been in her shoes, she would have definitely picked Nathan.

"Yeah, me too...Still don't know where this is all coming from to be honest...Did she tell you something ?" asked Nathan hopefully. Haley was Brooke's best friend, she had to know why Brooke broke up with him.

"It's not you..."

"It's her" interrupted Nathan "Yeah I know that's what she told me..." But Haley was not willing to tell him anything. As much as she was opposedto Brooke's decision there was no way, she was going to betray her friend for a guy, as sweet as he was.

"Can't tell you more...I'm sorry"

"Yeah, me too...Well I let you go back to your drink and get back to mine...Hope Lucas will be here before I end up completely drunk and do something I regret"

"You're waiting for Lucas ?"

"Yeah, he was suppose to be here half an hour ago. He told me he was going to help me blow off the steam and get over Brooke but he's still not here. I better call him again" finally said Nathan getting his phone out of his pocket.

Lucas felt his phone vibrating again but let it ring when he saw it was Nathan. He needed to do something first and did not want to be distracted. Lucas took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Hi" he finally said when the door opened.

"Lucas, what are you doing here ?!" said Brooke surprised. He was definitely the last person she was expected to see.

"Can we talk ?" Brooke was clearly hesitating right now. They did need to talk, but she did not feel like it was the right time. Rachel was about to go on her date in few minutes and she would be alone with Lucas in her apartment, this was definitely not a good idea. She knew that despite her effort, she would not be able to resist him. She was not there yet. But she needed to be strong, to make things right. She decided to start over, to have a fresh start and this implied staying away from engaged Lucas. But before living by her resolution, she needed to set things clear with him.

"Meet me downstairs in 5 minutes" said Brooke starting to close the door but Lucas blocked the door with his foot.

"Wait...what ? Can't we talk here ?" he asked not really understanding why she wanted to have their conversation in front of foreigners when they could have it privately in her apartment.

"No, we can't!" she said before closing the door.

Few minutes later Brooke got out of her apartment, Lucas was patiently waiting for her, thinking of what he was about to tell her.

"Let's walk" finally said Brooke when she reached him. She was being weird, she knew that and he definitely noticed it too. But she knew that if he started staring at her or touching her a little while seated next to her she will go mad. "Ok, let's talk now"

"I know you broke up with Nathan" said Lucas before looking at her to catch a reaction, any reaction but she seemed impassive.

"News travel fast..." simply said Brooke looking straight to her direction. She could feel his eyes on her and it drove crazy, but she needed to stay strong.

"Did you do this for us ?" asked Lucas. He had been thinking of Brooke every single time since he kissed her last night and he could not deny it anymore, something was happening between them. It was more than sexual attraction and the fact that Brooke broke up with Nathan comforted him in this idea. Or at least, that's what he thought.

"I did this for me...There's no us Lucas"

"Then what was the kiss we had last night ?"

"Something that should never happen again..."

"Brooke come on, we both know that it will happen again. There's something happening here and you can't deny it. I know I can't...I've tried but I can't...Please look at me Brooke" he said grabbing her arm to force her to face him. "There's something here..." said Lucas looking deeply into her eyes. It felt like he was directly looking into her soul and she could have fall for him, at that very moment. But she resisted it.

"You have a fiancé Lucas..."

"I don't love her...it's complicated..."

"I don't care how complicated it is, I don't want to be involved with someone who's already taken I've told you this before and I'm telling you this now. This is over Lucas"

"Brooke..." started Lucas before being interrupted by his phone. He took his out of his pocket and glanced at it quickly. It was Nathan again.

"You should pick up...I'm going" said Brooke before leaving without giving him the chance to say another word. She was proud of her. She finally managed to remain in control and do the right thing. Maybe Lucas' control over her had finally disappeared, she thought while walking back to her apartment, relieved.

Rachel was spending the night with her boyfriend. It felt weird for her to call him that because she usually did not have boyfriend, she had friends with benefits, sex friends but no boyfriend. But they've been seeing each other for two months and things were starting to look serious, stable. It was new for Rachel but she liked it.

"Another glass of wine..." asked the brunette showing her the bottle he just opened.

"Yes, please" she said smiling and handing him her glass. His name was Cooper, he was a professional racer. He was older than her though, like fifteen years older but you could not tell the difference. First of all because Cooper looked more like he was in his late twenties than his mid thirties. Moreover, he had a young spirit. He and Rachel shared the same interest and had the same stupid movie references. But he was not immature, on the contrary he was able to settle down and talk about serious things and this is what Rachel missed in her previous relationships. All the guys she dated were complete immature and this is probably the reason why she did not settle down. And she was already seeing herself building something with him. And if it frightened her at first, now she felt more and more comfortable with the idea of settling down for good with him.

"So what are we going to watch tonight" said Cooper joining Rachel on the couch.

"Do we need to watch something ?" asked Rachel seductively. She had not seen him in a while because he went to Nevada for a race, so she was definitely going to catch up what she missed.

"No we don't..." he replied smiling before taking her face in his hands and kissing her. Rachel quickly deepened the kiss which became more and more passionate and before they even had time to realise it they were lying half naked on the couch. But before they had any time to go further, Cooper's phone starting to ring.

"Don't pick it up" whispered Rachel kissing his neck.

"I have to...It might be important" he said grabbing his cell phone lying on the small table. "Hello..." he started before walking away to talk privately. Rachel had not been able to see the caller ID but judging from how tensed Cooper looked, it must be someone he did not want to talk to, which intrigued Rachel even more. She liked him, a lot, and she loved the relationship they had together but sometimes she had a weird feeling like he was hiding things from her and this feeling was getting bigger and bigger at that moment. "I'm sorry but...we have to reschedule" he said apologetically after coming back from his tense phone call.

"Why ? What happened ?" If he was hiding something, it was the moment for him to tell her.

"It's a friend...he needs my help" he simply said before grabbing his shirt to put it on.

"Hum...ok...Maybe I can help you with..."

"No, you can't" interrupted Cooper. "I've got it cover...It's...fine...I'm just sorry I had to reschedule but I make it up to you...I promise" he finally said giving her a sweet kiss on her forehead and heading back to his room to grab the rest of his stuff.

"Hey" said Rachel clearly annoyed when she finally got to her apartment.

"Hey" said Brooke clearly not expected to see her friend back so early. Rachel had been gushing over her date with Cooper for days now, so she was definitely not expecting to see Rachel back before the next day. "What are you doing here ?"

"Cooper had an emergency" answered Rachel before throwing herself in the couch and taking Brooke's pop corn from her hands

"What kind of emergency ?" asked Brooke reluctantly. She figured Rachel would probably not want to talk about it, but she tried anyway.

"I don't know...And I don't even know if I want to know to be honest..."

"Well I don't think there's something interesting to know...it was probably just work or something..."

"He's a car racer...it was not work trust me I know!" replied firmly Rachel. She had been thinking of this for the past hour and everything lead to the exact same conclusion, he was cheating on her. "He was too good to be true...Or maybe it's karma punishing me for acting like a bitch with all the guys I dated..."

"If karma punished you for that you would not even be here to talk about it" joked Brooke but Rachel was not in the mood to laugh. She was depressed because of a man, which made it even worth, and she needed a best friend support not her sarcasm. "It's going to be fine..." finally said Brooke taking Rachel in her arms. Now they were two feeling shitty because of a boy.

_End of Chapter 5_


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